Iron soap, manufacturing method thereof, and thermoplastic resin composition containing iron soap

ABSTRACT

An iron soap having a content A (%) of free fatty acid being 0.01≦A≦8.0, a content B (%) of water soluble salt being 0.01≦B≦0.5, and a granularity summary value C indicated in Formula (1) being 0.1≦C≦5.0, wherein the iron soap is a salt of a straight-chain saturated fatty acid having from 12 to 22 carbons and an iron. 
       Granularity summary value  C =( D 90− D 10)/ D 50(where 1.0≦ D 50≦40.0)  Formula (1)
 
     D10: 10% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles on a volumetric basis 
     D50: 50% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles on a volumetric basis 
     D90: 90% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles on a volumetric basis

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an iron soap, a manufacturing methodthereof, and a thermoplastic resin composition containing the iron soap,and in particular, relates to: an iron soap which has high compatibilityand dispersibility with respect to a thermoplastic resin and which iscapable of suitably being used as a dispersant for a photodecompositioncatalyst, an inorganic powder or the like; a manufacturing method bywhich it is possible to produce the iron soap in high yields; and athermoplastic resin composition containing the iron soap.

Description of Related Art

A metal soap has been widely used in many fields such as a resinprocessing field, an electronic printing field, a powder metallurgyfield, a cosmetic field, a coating material field, and a cement field.Examples of a currently practiced representative method of manufacturinga metal soap include a method of reacting a fatty acid with an inorganicmetal oxide or with an inorganic metal hydroxide (direct method) or amethod of reacting, in a water system, an alkali metal salt solution ofa fatty acid or an ammonium salt solution of a fatty acid with inorganicmetal salts (double decomposition method).

Among the metal soaps, an iron soap is used as a dispersant for aphotodecomposition catalyst, an inorganic powder or the like, in thefield of resin processing and powder metallurgy. Generally, the ironsoaps are industrially manufactured by a double decomposition method ofreacting an alkali metal salt solution of a fatty acid or an ammoniumsalt solution of a fatty acid with an inorganic iron salt in the watersystem, or by an exchange method of reacting a fatty acid and an ironalkoxide. In particular, in the resin processing field or the powdermetallurgy field, a high dispersion is demanded and from such a viewpoint, the iron soap obtained by the double decomposition method issuitably used.

For example, in the section of “Technical Problem” in Patent Literature1, it is stated that the double decomposition method is unable tocompletely convert a stearic acid to an iron stearate, and thus, 7 to10% of unreacted sodium stearate remains in the product. Further, thereis a problem in that a structure of an iron (III) soap is unstable, andthus, hydrolysis occurs during double decomposition reaction, resultingin producing free fatty acids. There is a problem when fatty acid saltsand free fatty acids are created, the purity of iron (III) soapdecreases.

Therefore, the Patent Literature 1 describes a manufacturing method ofmanufacturing fatty acid iron salts by, after a saponification reactionbetween a fatty acid and an alkali hydroxide, reacting the resultantfatty acid alkali metal salt with an acidic iron salt to perform adouble decomposition reaction, that is, a method of manufacturing fattyacid iron salts, which is characterized in that the saponificationreaction and the double decomposition reaction are performed alternatelyat a temperature of 90° C. plural number of times by alternately addingthe alkali hydroxide and the acidic iron salt to a reaction system in alarge excess to the fatty acid plural number of times so that unreactedfatty acids decrease. It is also mentioned that the fatty acid ironsalts which have a good color tone, fine powder, and a high purity areobtained.

However, in the present manufacturing method, a large excess of alkalihydroxide and acidic iron salt is added to the fatty acid, and thus, anexcessive water soluble salt is produced in the obtained fatty acid ironsalt. Specifically, in the reaction system, an excess sodium hydroxideadded to the fatty acid, iron chloride, and sodium chloride produced inthe double decomposition reaction remain, and furthermore an unreactedsodium hydroxide and an iron chloride react so that a basic iron salt isproduced. When these unreacted raw materials and byproducts aredispersed in the thermoplastic resin, for example, there is a problem ofcausing a dispersion failure due to a high cohesiveness, and there isalso a problem that it is not possible to achieve a high purity of theiron soap.

On the other hand, Patent Literature 2 describes a method ofmanufacturing a trisoap-type long chain fatty acid iron (II), where themethod has a characteristic of reacting an iron (II) trialkoxide and along chain fatty acid, under inert gas atmosphere by an exchange methodin presence of aprotic polar solvent.

However, in the present manufacturing method, the reaction is caused byusing a large amount of aprotic polar solvents such as tetrahydrofuran,dioxane, and diethylether. Further, for a purpose of increasing thepurity of the trisoap-type long chain fatty acid iron (II), a largeexcess of 3 to 300 parts by mole of long chain fatty acid, preferably 6to 100 parts by mole thereof, per 1 part by mole of the iron (II)trialkoxide is added for reaction, and thus a large amount of free fattyacids remains in fatty acid iron salt, and a large amount of aproticpolar solvent is used to wash the large amount of free fatty acids.Therefore, there is a problem of giving large stress on the environmentby using a large amount of aprotic polar solvent.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H6-271499

[PTL 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.S62-120339

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to provide an iron soap which hashigh compatibility and dispersibility with respect to a thermoplasticresin and which is capable of suitably being used as a dispersant for aphotodecomposition catalyst, an inorganic powder or the like; amanufacturing method by which it is possible to produce the iron soap inhigh yields; and a thermoplastic resin composition containing the ironsoap.

Solution to Problem

As a result of a number of extensive researches to solve the aboveproblem, the present inventor found that an iron soap in which thecontent of free fatty acid, the content of water soluble salts, and agranularity summary value were respectively defined within apredetermined range, had high compatibility and dispersibility withrespect to a thermoplastic resin, and was capable of being suitably usedas a dispersant for a photodecomposition catalyst, an inorganic powderor the like, and also found that by adjusting the pH obtained when astraight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueous solutionwas reacted with a trivalent iron salt aqueous solution, it was possibleto obtain the above iron soap.

That is, the present invention is an iron soap where a content A (%) offree fatty acid is 0.01≦A≦8.0, a content B (%) of water soluble salt is0.01≦B≦0.5 and a granularity summary value C indicated in Formula (1) is0.1≦C≦5.0, wherein the iron soap is a salt of a straight-chain saturatedfatty acid having from 12 to 22 carbons and an iron.

Granularity summary value C=(D90−D10)/D50(where 1.0≦D50≦40.0)  Formula(1)

D10: 10% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

D50: 50% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

D90: 90% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

Further, the present invention is a method of manufacturing theabove-mentioned iron soap comprising the following steps:

reacting, at a temperature equal to or lower than a crystal transitioninitiation temperature of the iron soap to be manufactured, between astraight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueous solutionhaving from 12 to 22 carbons and a trivalent iron salt aqueous solutionwith pH of 0.1 to 5.5 so as to prepare an iron soap slurry; and

adjusting pH of the prepared iron soap slurry to from 0.1 to 6.0.

Further, the present invention is a thermoplastic resin compositioncontaining 0.01 to 10 parts by mass of the iron soap of the presentinvention per 100 parts by mass of the thermoplastic resin.

The thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention may furthercontain 0.1 to 100 parts by mass of fatty acid calcium soap per 100parts by mass of the iron soap.

Further, in the fatty acid calcium soap, the granularity summary value Cin Formula (1) is C≦2.0 and an aggregation degree E (%) indicated inFormula (2) may be E≦20.

Aggregation degree E=[(mass of fatty acid metal salt particles remainingon a sieve with a mesh size of 350 μm)/2]×100×(1/1)+[(mass of fatty acidmetal salt particles remaining on a sieve with a mesh size of 250μm)/2]×100×(3/5)+[(mass of fatty acid metal salt particles remaining ona sieve with a mesh size of 150 μm)/2]×100×(1/5)]  Formula (2)

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The iron soap of the present invention has high compatibility anddispersibility with respect to a thermoplastic resin, and is capable ofsuitably being used as a dispersant for a photodecomposition catalyst,an inorganic powder or the like.

Further, a method of manufacturing the iron soap of the presentinvention enables production of the iron soap of the present inventionin high yields.

Further, the thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention,which contains the iron soap of the present invention at a highdispersibility, may be uniformly and wholly decomposed inphotodecomposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described, below.

First, an iron soap of the present invention will be described, and amethod of manufacturing the iron soap of the present invention by whichit is possible to produce the iron soap in high yields, and athermoplastic resin composition containing the iron soap of the presentinvention will be described sequentially.

[Iron Soap]

In the iron soap of the present invention, a content A (%) of free fattyacid is 0.01≦A≦8.0, preferably 0.01≦A≦6.0, and particularly preferably0.01≦A≦4.0. When the content A is too large, upon dispersing the ironsoap in a thermoplastic resin, there is a concern that dispersibilitymay decrease such as a bleedout in the resin. Further, the iron contentin the iron soap significantly decreases and a photodecompositionperformance of the resin decreases, and thus, there is a concern thatthe photodecomposition becomes difficult.

It is noted that measurement of the content A (%) of the free fattyacids may be performed by titration using an alkali solution.

In the iron soap of the present invention, a content B (%) of watersoluble salt is 0.01≦B≦0.5, preferably 0.01≦B≦0.3, and particularlypreferably 0.01≦B≦0.2. When the content B is too large, upon being addedto the thermoplastic resin, for example, there is a concern that thedispersibility may decrease due to hygroscopicity of the water solublesalts, for example.

It is noted that the content B of the water soluble salts may beevaluated from a difference in mass when a sample is boiled with water.

In the iron soap of the present invention, the granularity summary valueC expressed in Formula (1) is 0.1≦C≦5.0, preferably 0.1≦C≦4.0, andparticularly preferably 0.1≦CB≦3.0. When the granularity summary value Cis too large, upon the iron soap being added to a thermoplastic resin,for example, there is a concern that a uniform dispersibility may beimpaired because the granulometric distribution is wide. On the otherhand, when the granularity summary value C is too small, the yield isdeteriorated and the productivity is lowered, which may bedisadvantageous from a viewpoint of cost.

Thus, the iron soap which has a small amount of coarse particles and aspecified granulometric distribution, has high dispersibility when beingmelt-kneaded after being added to the thermoplastic resin, and thus, agreat effect as a photodecomposition catalyst is easily obtained.

It is noted that it is possible to calculate the granularity summaryvalue C from a particle size measured by a Microtrac laser diffractionmethod.

Granularity summary value C=(D90−D10)/D50(where 1.0≦D50≦40.0)  Formula(1)

D10: 10% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

D50: 50% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

D90: 90% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

It is noted that the granularity summary value C may be adjusted byproperly adjusting the concentration of the fatty acid alkali metalsalt, a temperature during the reaction between a fatty acid alkalimetal salt aqueous solution and a trivalent iron salt aqueous solution,and a dropping speed when the trivalent iron salt aqueous solution isdropped into the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueous solution,respectively. Further, when particles with a broad granulometricdistribution, in other words, with a large granularity summary value C,are adjusted, these particles may be classified by using sieves with 100mesh, 200 mesh, 330 mesh, or the like in a post-process.

[Method of Manufacturing Iron Soap]

A method of manufacturing an iron soap of the present inventioncomprises steps of: preparing an iron soap slurry by mixing astraight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueous solutionand a trivalent iron salt aqueous solution to cause a reaction; andadjusting pH of the prepared iron soap slurry to within a predeterminedrange.

Examples of the fatty acid salts used to prepare the straight-chainsaturated fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueous solution include analkali metal salt of straight-chain saturated fatty acid having from 12to 22 carbons. Examples of such fatty acid salts include alkali metalsalts such as: sodium and potassium of a simple fatty acid representedby lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidicacid, behenic acid and the like; or sodium and potassium of a straightchain saturated mixed fatty acids derived from animals and plantsrepresented by tallow fatty acid, lard fatty acid, soybean oil fattyacid, coconut oil fatty acid, palm oil fatty acid and the like. Theaforementioned fatty acid salts may be used alone, or two or more typesthereof may be used in combination.

When using alkali metal salts of the straight-chain saturated fatty acidhaving less than 12 carbons, a solubility to water of the obtained ironsoap increases, and thus, there is a concern that the yield issignificantly lowered. Further, when the fatty acid salts are added to athermoplastic resin and melt-kneaded by heating, the compatibilitybecomes lower and the dispersibility may be lowered. On the other hand,when using alkali metal salts of a long straight-chain saturated fattyacid having more than 22 carbons, the solubility to the water issignificantly lowered, and thus, it is necessary to significantly lowerthe concentration of the aqueous solution, which may lead to loweringthe productive efficiency.

The content of the straight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal saltin the straight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution is 0.1 to 20 mass %, for example. When the content is toosmall, the amount of obtained iron soap is significantly small withrespect to the amount of reaction solution, and thus, there is a concernthat the productive efficiency may be lowered. Further, when the contentis too large, the concentration of the iron soap dispersion solutionduring or after the reaction is too high, causing the reaction to slowdown, and there is a concern that the purity of the iron (III) soap maybe lowered. When an iron soap having a high iron (III) soap purity ismore efficiently manufactured, the content of the alkali metal salt ofthe fatty acid in the aqueous solution is preferably 1 to 15 mass %, andparticularly preferably 3 to 15 mass %.

Examples of the iron salt used to prepare the trivalent iron saltaqueous solution include iron (III) chloride and iron (III) sulfate. Theaforementioned compounds may be used alone, or two or more types thereofmay be used in combination.

Further, when preparing an iron salt aqueous solution having apredetermined concentration, a predetermined amount of inorganic acidsuch as hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid is added to adjust the pH tofrom 0.1 to 5.5, preferably to from 0.1 to 5.0, and particularlypreferably to from 0.5 to 4.0.

The content of the iron salt in the trivalent iron salt aqueous solutionis 0.1 to 40 mass %, for example. When the content is too small, theamount of obtained iron soap is significantly small with respect to theamount of reaction solution, and thus, there is a concern that theproductive efficiency may be lowered. Further, when the content is toolarge, the aggregation of obtained iron soap particles easily proceeds,and thus, obtaining a uniform iron soap slurry may become difficult. Inorder to stably manufacture a uniform iron soap slurry in which theaggregation of the obtained iron soap particles is suppressed, apreferable content of the iron salt in the iron salt aqueous solution is0.5 to 30 mass %, and a particularly preferable content is 1.0 to 30mass %.

The reaction between the straight-chain saturated fatty acid alkalimetal salt aqueous solution and the trivalent iron salt aqueous solutionis preferably conducted while adjusting an equivalent ratio(straight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal salt/iron salt) of thestraight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metal salt with respect tothe iron salt to be in the range from 0.5 to 3.0, which makes it easy toadjust the pH of the iron soap slurry to from 0.1 to 6.0.

In the present invention, it is necessary to mix the straight-chainsaturated fatty acid alkali iron salt aqueous solution and the trivalentiron salt aqueous solution at a temperature equal to or lower than acrystal transition initiation temperature of the iron soap to bemanufactured, and cause a reaction.

Here, the crystal transition initiation temperature is a temperature atwhich the crystal structure of the iron soap begins to change, and forexample, in a heat absorption graph by Differential Scanning Calorimetry(DSC) of iron (III) stearate, an intersection point between an extensionline of a base line before an initiation of the heat absorption and atangent line at the inflection point of the gradient curve after theinitiation of heat absorption is regarded as the crystal transitioninitiation temperature.

The crystal transition initiation temperature of the iron (III) stearateis 84° C. Further, the crystal transition initiation temperature is 85°C. for an iron (III) behenate, 83° C. for an iron (III) palmitate, 81°C. for an iron (III) myristate, and 79° C. for an iron (III) laurate.Further, for example, the crystal transition initiation temperature is83° C. for an iron (III) soap prepared with mixed fatty acids in whichstearic acid and palmitic acid are mixed at a mass ratio of 65:35.

The reaction between the straight-chain saturated fatty acid alkalimetal salt aqueous solution and the trivalent iron salt aqueous solutionis preferably conducted at a temperature or higher at which the straightchain fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueous solution is completelydissolved. Specifically, it is preferable to conduct the reaction at atemperature equal to or higher than a temperature lower by 30° C. thanthe crystal transition initiation temperature of the iron soap to bemanufactured. When the iron (III) stearate is manufactured, for example,it is preferable to conduct the reaction at 54° C. or higher.

It is noted that the measurement of the Differential ScanningCalorimetry (DSC) is conducted by using a sample of 10 mg, under anitrogen gas stream (60 ml/min), and at a temperature rising rate of 2°C./min from 0° C. to 150° C.

A reaction temperature at the time of actual mixing of both aqueoussolutions differs depending on the fatty acid chain of the obtained ironsoap; however, for example, in a case of manufacturing the iron (III)stearate, 60 to 79° C. is preferred and 65 to 75° C. is particularlypreferred. When the reaction temperature is too low, the solubility ofthe alkali metal stearate salt to water in the alkali metal stearatesalt aqueous solution decreases, and therefore, although the iron (III)stearate as a target substance may be obtained, the finally obtainedamount of the iron soap is lower than the amount of the reactionsolution, and the productive efficiency may be lowered. When thereaction temperature is too high, an aggregation and a fusion occur inparticles of the iron soap slurry produced during the doubledecomposition reaction, and not only it is difficult to obtain the ironsoap of fine particles, but also there is a concern that a large amountof fatty acid alkali metal salt aggregates and fuses together andremains inside the iron soap.

The iron soap slurry is obtained by the method described above. The ironsoap slurry is used as it is, or a solvent thereof is separated by acentrifugal extractor, a filter press, a vacuum rotary filter, or thelike. Further the iron soap slurry is washed, if necessary, to removethe byproduct inorganic salt, and then is dried by a rotary dryer, anairborne dryer, a ventilating dryer, a spray dryer, a fluid bed dryer,or the like. The drying method may be continuous or batch type, oreither under normal pressure or vacuum.

Further, the dried iron soap is disintegrated as necessary. Thedisintegration method is not particularly limited, and thedisintegration may be done with a pin mill, a jet mill, or an atomizer,for example. The disintegrated iron soap particles are classified. Thatis, the particles are classified with, for example, a multi-stage sievedevice for sieving particles with vibrations, or the like for adjustinga granulometric distribution. Thus, the iron soap particles can beobtained which are easily melted and dispersed into a thermoplasticresin, and of which the content of each of the free fatty acid and thewater soluble salt is small and the granularity summary value is withina predetermined range.

The pH of the iron soap slurry obtained in the present invention isadjusted to from 0.1 to 6.0, preferably to from 0.1 to 4.0. When the pHof the iron soap slurry is too high, it is difficult to obtain an iron(III) soap having 3 mol of fatty acids bonded per 1 mol of iron, causingpartial hydrolysis, and thus, there is a concern that an iron soap(disoap) is produced in which 2 mol of fatty acids are bonded per 1 molof iron. On the other hand, when the pH of the iron soap slurry is toolow, the obtained iron soap is easily decomposed, and thus, there is aconcern of having excessive amount of free fatty acid.

It is noted that it is preferable that after obtaining the iron soapslurry, the slurry is aged for 10 minutes to 2 hours in a state in whichthe reaction temperature and the pH of the iron soap slurry aremaintained within the above-mentioned range.

[Thermoplastic Resin Composition]

It is preferable that the iron soap of the present invention iscontained in a thermoplastic resin and used for a purpose of decomposingthe thermoplastic resin.

The thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention contains athermoplastic resin and an iron soap of the present invention. Theabove-mentioned thermoplastic resin may be either a non-polar resin or apolar resin, and examples thereof may include polyurethane, polystyrene,and polyolefin; examples of the polyolefin include polypropylene, lowdensity polyethylene, and high density polyethylene. Further, examplesof the thermoplastic resin may also include ethylene/vinyl acetatecopolymer, ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer, ethylene/methyl acrylatecopolymer, and polymethylmethacrylate. It is possible to obtain thethermoplastic resin composition of the present invention by melting andmixing the iron soap with the thermoplastic resin under a heatingcondition.

The content of iron soap in the thermoplastic resin composition of thepresent invention is preferably from 0.01 to 10 parts by mass per 100parts by mass of thermoplastic resin, and more preferably from 0.1 to 8parts by mass. When the content of iron soap is too small, a property ofthe iron soap is difficult to maintain, and when the content is toolarge, the thermoplastic resin is easily and significantly deteriorated.

As a dispersion aid to highly disperse the iron soap in thethermoplastic resin, a fatty acid calcium soap, that which is preferablyobtained by a double decomposition method, is used appropriately.Specifically, examples thereof may include calcium laurate, calciummyristate, calcium palmitate, calcium stearate, and calcium behenate,and the calcium stearate is preferable. Below, the fatty acid calciumsoap obtained by the double decomposition method is also referred to asa double decomposed fatty acid calcium soap.

The amount of double decomposed fatty acid calcium soap to be added tothe iron soap is preferably from 0.01 to 100 parts by mass per 100 partsby mass of iron soap, and more preferably from 0.1 to 100 parts by mass.When the addition amount of the double decomposed fatty acid calciumsoap is too small, it becomes difficult to obtain a property to improvedispersibility of the iron soap. On the other hand, if the additionamount is too large, it becomes difficult to obtain a function as adispersant for a photodecomposition catalyst, an inorganic powder or thelike of the iron soap in the thermoplastic resin.

As the double decomposed fatty acid calcium soap, it is preferable thatthe granularity summary value C of Formula (1) is C≦2.0, and in thedouble decomposed fatty acid calcium soap (fatty acid metal saltparticles) which has been left in an environment of 80° C. for 10minutes, the aggregation degree E (%) of Formula (2) measured by apowder tester is E≦20.

The double decomposed fatty acid calcium soap satisfying theabove-mentioned values, improves the dispersibility and coatability onthe iron soap, thus more significantly contributing to the improvementof dispersibility when added to the thermoplastic resin.

Aggregation degree E=[(mass of fatty acid metal salt particles remainingon a sieve with a mesh size of 350 μm)/2]×100×(1/1)+[(mass of fatty acidmetal salt particles remaining on a sieve with a mesh size of 250μm)/2]×100×(3/5)+[(mass of fatty acid metal salt particles remaining ona sieve with a mesh size of 150 μm)/2]×100×(1/5)]   Formula (2)

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be more specifically described by usingExamples and Comparative Examples below.

It is noted that in the following Examples and the Comparative Examples,the pH of the slurry (dispersion solution), a content A (%) of freefatty acid, a content B (%) of water soluble salt, and a granularitysummary value C were measured as follows: The results were compiled inTable 1.

1) pH of the Slurry (Dispersion Solution):

20 g of the iron soap slurry was weighed and placed in a 200-ml beaker.The pH was measured while stirring so that the soap slurry becameuniform.

2) Content a (%) of the Free Fatty Acid:

5 g of the iron soap was weighed and placed in a beaker, 50 g ofdiethylether-ethanol mixed solvent (1:1) was added thereto, after beingstirred for 30 seconds, the mixture was left to stand for 30 minutes.Thereafter, the mixture was filtered using a 5B filter paper, thefiltrate was titrated by using the N/10 potassium hydroxide titrationsolution, and the amount of free fatty acid was calculated according tothe following formula. The similar operation was also performed for theblank fatty acid.

Content of free fatty acid=(VA−VB)×f×M/W/100

where

VA: Dropping amount in the sample (ml)

VB: Dropping amount in the blank (ml)

f: factor of N/10 potassium hydroxide titration solution

M: molecular weight of fatty acid used

W: amount of iron soap sample (g)

3) Content B (%) of the Water Soluble Salt:

2 g of the iron soap is weighed and placed in an Erlenmeyer flask, andafter 50 g of water is added, an air cooling tube is attached to theflask for boiling for one hour while shaking on a water bath. Then, thesolution is filtered using filter paper into a 100-ml beaker. 10 ml ofwater is added to the residue in the Erlenmeyer flask, then thefiltration process is repeated three times. After volatilizing water inthe 100-ml beaker on the water bath, the beaker is dried for one hour ina constant-temperature dryer at 105±2° C., and after cooling down in thedesiccator, the content is weighed.

Content B(%) of water soluble salt=[residue(g)/collected sampleamount(g)]×100

4) Granularity Summary Value C:

Granularity (D10, D50, D90);

A granulometric distribution measuring instrument (equipment name“Microtrac MT-3000” manufactured by NIKKISO Co., Ltd.) was used formeasurement (Principle: laser diffraction-scattering method).

A cumulative curve was drawn with the whole volume of a cluster ofpowders to be measured as 100%, and particles sizes at the 10%, 50%, and90% points of the cumulative curve were obtained as 10% diameter (D10),50% diameter (D50), and 90% diameter (D90) (μm) respectively.

Granularity summary value C=(D90−D10)/D50(where 1.0≦D50≦40.0)  Formula(1)

D10: 10% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

D50: 50% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

D90: 90% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles ona volumetric basis

Example 1

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 203 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 5 L separable flask, and heated up to 60°C. Subsequently, 75.4 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (60° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 60° C., 506.4 g of 25% iron(III) sulfate aqueous solution [Fe₂(SO₄)₃ aqueous solution] in which thepH was adjusted to 0.63 by adding a titration amount of sulfuric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 40 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 1.4.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 10minutes while maintaining the solution at 60° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained aqueous dispersion slurry of the ironstearate soap, which was followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Thenthe mixture was filtered with a suction filter and was washed with 1000g of water twice. The obtained cake was dried and ground by a microndryer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in powder form wereobtained.

Example 2

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 203 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 5 L separable flask, and heated up to 65°C. Subsequently, 75.4 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (65° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 65° C., 506.4 g of 25% iron(III) sulfate aqueous solution [Fe₂(SO₄)₃ aqueous solution] in which thepH was adjusted to 1.7 by adding a titration amount of sulfuric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 40 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 2.0.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 10minutes while maintaining the solution at 65° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained aqueous dispersion slurry of the ironstearate soap, which was followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Thenthe mixture was filtered with a suction filter and was washed with 1000g of water twice. The obtained cake was dried and ground by a microndryer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in powder form wereobtained.

Example 3

250 g of palmitic acid (neutralization value of 219 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 5 L separable flask, and heated up to 65°C. Subsequently, 81.3 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (65° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 65° C., 546.3 g of 25% iron(III) sulfate aqueous solution [Fe₂(SO₄)₃ aqueous solution] in which thepH was adjusted to 2.2 by adding a titration amount of sulfuric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 60 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 2.4.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 20minutes while maintaining the solution at 65° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the aqueous dispersion slurry of the obtained ironpalmitate soap, which was followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Then,the mixture was filtered with a suction filter and washed with 1000 g ofwater twice. The obtained cake was dried and ground by a micron dryer,and thus, iron palmitate soap particles in powder form were obtained.

Example 4

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 208 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 3 L separable flask, and heated up to 65°C. Subsequently, 77.2 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (65° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 65° C., 210.4 g of 25% iron(III) chloride aqueous solution [FeCl₃ aqueous solution] in which the pHwas adjusted to 3.6 by adding a titration amount of hydrochloric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 40 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 3.8.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 20minutes while maintaining the solution at 65° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained aqueous dispersion slurry of the ironstearate soap, which was followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Thenthe mixture was filtered with a suction filter and was washed with 1000g of water twice. The obtained cake was dried and ground by a microndryer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in powder form wereobtained.

Example 5

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 203 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 3 L separable flask, and heated up to 70°C. Subsequently, 75.3 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (70° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 70° C., 205.4 g of 25% iron(III) chloride aqueous solution [FeCl₃ aqueous solution] in which the pHwas adjusted to 2.5 by adding a titration amount of hydrochloric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 60 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 2.9.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 20minutes while maintaining the solution at 70° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained aqueous dispersion slurry of the ironstearate soap, which was followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Thenthe mixture was filtered with a suction filter and was washed with 1000g of water twice. The obtained cake was dried and ground by a microndryer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in powder form wereobtained.

Comparative Example 1

A reagent of an iron (III) stearate manufactured by Kishida ChemicalCo., Ltd. was used.

Comparative Example 2

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 203 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 5 L separable flask, and heated up to 85°C. Subsequently, 77.2 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (85° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 85° C., 506.4 g of 25% iron(III) sulfate aqueous solution [Fe₂(SO₄)₃ aqueous solution] in which thepH was adjusted to 1.8 by adding a titration amount of sulfuric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 40 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 2.7.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 20minutes while maintaining the solution at 85° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained block-shaped iron stearate soap, whichwas followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Then, the mixture wasfiltered with a suction filter and washed with 1000 g of water twice.The obtained block-shaped soap was dried using a shelf and ground by amixer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in granular form wereobtained.

Comparative Example 3

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 203 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 3 L separable flask, and heated up to 90°C. Subsequently, 77.2 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (90° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 90° C., 506.4 g of 25% iron(III) sulfate aqueous solution [Fe₂(SO₄)₃ aqueous solution] in which thepH was adjusted to 2.3 by adding a titration amount of sulfuric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 40 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 1.6.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 20minutes while maintaining the solution at 90° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained block-shaped iron stearate soap, whichwas followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Then, the mixture wasfiltered with a suction filter and washed with 1000 g of water twice.The obtained block-shaped soap was dried using a shelf and ground by amixer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in granular form wereobtained.

Comparative Example 4

250 g of stearic acid (neutralization value of 208 mg KOH/g) and 2700 gof water were prepared into a 3 L separable flask, and heated up to 70°C. Subsequently, 77.2 g of 48 mass % sodium hydroxide aqueous solutionwas added thereto, and then the mixture was stirred for one hour at thesame temperature (70° C.), and thus, the fatty acid alkali metal saltaqueous solution was obtained.

Then, while maintaining the solution at 70° C., 506.4 g of 25% iron(III) sulfate aqueous solution [Fe₂(SO₄)₃ aqueous solution] in which thepH was adjusted to 5.3 by adding a titration amount of sulfuric acid(reagent), was dropped to the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution for 40 minutes, thus the pH of the iron soap slurry became 6.4.

After the dropping was completed, the solution was stirred for 20minutes while maintaining the solution at 70° C. for aging. 1500 g ofwater was added to the obtained aqueous dispersion slurry of the ironstearate soap, which was followed by cooling to 50° C. or lower. Thenthe mixture was filtered with a suction filter and was washed with 1000g of water twice. The obtained cake was dried and ground by a microndryer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles in powder form wereobtained.

Comparative Example 5

Synthesis of the iron stearate was carried out in accordance withExample 1 of Patent Literature 1.

In a 2 L beaker, 75 g of stearic acid (NV=204; neutralizing value) wasadded to 500 g of sodium hydroxide (reagent, special grade) aqueoussolution, which was heat to 90° C. and stirred up, to saponify thestearic acid to obtain a transparent rubber form of sodium stearate.

Next, 222 ml of 0.4 M iron (III) chloride aqueous solution was slowlyadded to the reaction mixture and the double decomposition reaction wascarried out. After obtaining a suspended red product, water contained inthe reaction solution was filtered out thus completed the initialsynthesis reaction.

Thereafter, 156 ml of 0.4 M sodium hydroxide aqueous solution and 344 mlof purified water were added to the reaction solution, which were heatto 90° C. and stirred to saponify the stearic acid remaining in theproduct. Thereafter, 55 ml of 0.4 M iron (III) chloride aqueous solutionwas further added, producing suspended iron stearate, followed byaddition of 93.6 ml of 0.4M sodium hydroxide aqueous solution to carryout a saponification reaction with the remaining stearic acid. Afterthis, 33 ml of 0.4 M iron (III) chloride aqueous solution was added tocarry out the double decomposition reaction. Then, after thesaponification reaction by further adding 50 ml of 0.4 M sodiumhydroxide aqueous solution, 18 ml of 0.4 M iron (III) chloride aqueoussolution was added, which resulted in the iron (III) stearate of thetarget product. Then the mixture was filtered with a suction filter andwas washed with 1000 g of water twice. The obtained cake was dried andground by a micron dryer, and thus, iron stearate soap particles inpowder form were obtained.

TABLE 1 Free fatty Water Granularity Slurry acid soluble salt D50summary pH A (%) B (%) (μm) value C (μm) Example 1 Iron (III) stearateprototype 1 1.4 2.1 0.19 6.8 1.9 Example 2 Iron (III) stearate prototype2 2.0 1.4 0.08 5.4 1.4 Example 3 Iron (III) palmitate prototype 3 2.41.6 0.14 6.2 2.5 Example 4 Iron (III) stearate prototype 4 3.8 1.9 0.205.8 2.1 Example 5 Iron (III) stearate prototype 5 2.9 2.7 0.24 9.8 2.9Comparative Iron (III) stearate reagent No data 8.7 0.98 34.5 5.7Example 1 Comparative Iron (III) stearate prototype 6 2.7 15.7 4.72245.1 7.5 Example 2 Comparative Iron (III) stearate prototype 7 1.6 23.86.31 368.2 8.1 Example 3 Comparative Iron (III) stearate prototype 8 6.48.9 1.08 8.7 2.7 Example 4 Comparative Iron (III) stearate prototype 98.2 3.9 2.89 12.4 6.6 Example 5

Next, 3.2 g of each of 10 types of iron (III) soap particles as shown inTable 1 evaluated in the above Examples and Comparative Examples wasused to be kneaded with 60.0 g of non-additive low density polyethylene(MIRASON 16P, manufactured by Prime Polymer Co., Ltd.) for five minutesunder a temperature of 180° C. by a biaxial kneader (Laboplastomill),which was followed by being formed into a 1 mm thick sheet by hotpressing.

Example 6

3.2 g of the iron (III) stearate soap particles obtained in Example 1was processed in much the same way as above except for using acomposition added with 0.32 g of calcium stearate obtained by the doubledecomposition method having the granularity summary value C of 1.8 andthe aggregation degree E of 12.5%, resulting in a sheet having athickness of 1 mm being formed.

The obtained sheet was evaluated as follows.

[Overall Grade of Whiteness and Clarity]

For the obtained sheet, whiteness (WI) and lightness (L) were measuredby using Z-100DP colormeter manufactured by Nippon Denshoku IndustriesCo., Ltd., and determined in five grades.

It is noted that the measurement was performed by arbitrarily selectingfive locations. Here, a first grade is when the clarity and whitenessare the highest, and a fifth grade is when the clarity and whiteness arethe lowest. The grade determination results are shown in Table 2 below.

[MFR Value]

For the obtained sheet, irradiation test was carried out by using adeterioration acceleration testing machine, EYE Super SUV-W161 type(manufactured by Iwasaki Electric Co., Ltd.). The sheet was irradiatedwith a UV illuminance of 150 mW/cm² for 60 hours. After the test, thesheet was cut finely and a melt mass flow rate (MFR, unit: g/10 min)value was measured five times under the condition of a load of 21.18Nand a temperature of 190° C. in accordance with a method specified byJIS K7210-1995.

TABLE 2 Overall Grade of Whiteness and MFR value (g/10 min) ClarityStandard Average value Average value deviation Example 1 Iron (III)stearate prototype 1 1 3.4 0.08 Example 2 Iron (III) stearate prototype2 1 3.6 0.11 Example 3 Iron (III) palmitate prototype 3 1 3.2 0.05Example 4 Iron (III) stearate prototype 4 1 3.2 0.07 Example 5 Iron(III) stearate prototype 5 2 3.0 0.05 Example 6 Iron (III) stearateprototype 1 + 1 3.9 0.07 Calcium stearate Comparative Iron (III)stearate reagent 4 2.7 0.08 Example 1 Comparative Iron (III) stearateprototype 6 5 2.4 0.16 Example 2 Comparative Iron (III) stearateprototype 7 5 2.3 0.22 Example 3 Comparative Iron (III) stearateprototype 8 3 2.7 0.05 Example 4 Comparative Iron (III) stearateprototype 9 3 2.5 0.15 Example 5

In Examples 1 to 5, by reacting the fatty acid alkali metal salt aqueoussolution and the iron salt aqueous solution under the conditions of thetemperature and pH specified in the present invention, iron soapparticles having the content A of the free fatty acid, the content B ofthe water soluble salt, and the granularity summary value C specified inthe present invention are obtained. Further, when the iron soapparticles of Examples 1 to 5 are added to the low density polyethylenewhich is a thermoplastic resin, the overall grade was good, andimprovement of fluidity (MFR value) due to acceleration of decompositionof polyethylene was obtained.

Further, in Example 6, due to combination with calcium stearate from thedouble decomposition method, dispersibility of iron soap particlesfurther improved, and a higher improvement of fluidity was observed.

On the other hand, when the reagent of iron (III) stearate (manufacturedby Kishida Chemical Co., Ltd.) in Comparative Example 1, having a largecontent A of free fatty acid, was added to the polyethylene, the overallgrade became bad, thus improvement of fluidity (MFR value) due toacceleration of decomposition of polyethylene was not obtained.

In iron (III) stearate prototypes 6 and 7 in Comparative Example 2 andComparative Example 3, the double decomposition reaction was carried outat a higher temperature than a crystal transition initiationtemperature, thus the obtained iron soap aggregated and united duringthe production of slurry, causing instability, where unreacted fattyacids were incorporated, thus the free fatty acid was significantlyhigher. Further, the iron soap became granular form and the granularityalso became coarse, thus the dispersibility significantly deterioratedand high fluidity could not be obtained even with MFR, and variation ofnumerical value also increased.

When an iron (III) stearate prototype 8 in Comparative Example 4, havinga large content A of free fatty acid, was added to the polyethylene, theoverall grade became bad, thus improvement in fluidity (MFR value) dueto acceleration of decomposition of polyethylene was not obtained.

When an iron (III) stearate prototype 9 of in Comparative Example 5,having a large content B (%) of water soluble salt, was added to thepolyethylene, the overall grade became bad, thus improvement in fluidity(MFR value) due to acceleration of decomposition of polyethylene was notobtained.

What is claimed is:
 1. An iron soap having a content A (%) of free fattyacid being 0.01≦A≦8.0, a content B (%) of water soluble salt being0.01≦B≦0.5, and a granularity summary value C indicated in Formula (1)being 0.1≦C≦5.0, wherein the iron soap is a salt of a straight-chainsaturated fatty acid having from 12 to 22 carbons and an iron,Granularity summary value C=(D90−D10)/D50(where 1.0≦D50≦40.0)   Formula(1) D10: 10% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acid metal salt particleson a volumetric basis D50: 50% cumulative diameter (μm) of fatty acidmetal salt particles on a volumetric basis D90: 90% cumulative diameter(μm) of fatty acid metal salt particles on a volumetric basis
 2. Amethod of manufacturing the iron soap according to claim 1, comprisingthe steps of: reacting, at a temperature equal to or lower than acrystal transition initiation temperature of the iron soap to bemanufactured, between a straight-chain saturated fatty acid alkali metalsalt aqueous solution having from 12 to 22 carbons and a trivalent ironsalt aqueous solution with pH of 0.1 to 5.5 so as to prepare an ironsoap slurry; and adjusting pH of the prepared iron soap slurry to from0.1 to 6.0.
 3. A thermoplastic resin composition comprising 0.01 to 10parts by mass of the iron soap according to claim 1 per 100 parts bymass of a thermoplastic resin.
 4. The thermoplastic resin compositionaccording to claim 3, further comprising 0.1 to 100 parts by mass offatty acid calcium soap per 100 parts by mass of the iron soap.
 5. Thethermoplastic resin composition according to claim 4, wherein the fattyacid calcium soap has the granularity summary value C in Formula (1)being C≦2.0 and an aggregation degree E (%) indicated in Formula (2)being E≦20,Aggregation degree E=[(mass of fatty acid metal salt particles remainingon a sieve with a mesh size of 350 μm)/2]×100×(1/1)+[(mass of fatty acidmetal salt particles remaining on a sieve with a mesh size of 250μm)/2]×100×(3/5)+[(mass of fatty acid metal salt particles remaining ona sieve with a mesh size of 150 μm)/2]×100×(1/5)]  Formula (2)